Unemployment: NGO Empowers Students With Innovation Skills In Renewable Energy

Determined to safeguard the future of young people as leaders of tomorrow, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), ALL ON, a renewal energy firm, has launched a skill acquisition training scheme for youths drawn from some higher institutions in Nigeria.

The scheme, LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered, was part of activities marking the 10th year anniversary of the energy company tagged;! “Hackathon”, which drew beneficiaries from the University of Lagos (UNILAG); Lagos State University (LASU) and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm, Caroline Eboumbou, in a communque made available to Journalists in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, explained that the gesture became necessary in order “to inspire next generation of clean energy Innovators in Nigeria” as the company marked 10 years in business.

She recalled that “for the past ten years, the firm had invested in people, businesses, and partnerships that have been expanding access to clean energy across the country.”

She described the company’s Partnerships for Energy Access, as “a foremost impact investment company in Nigeria’s energy access sector, giving young innovators the opportunity to develop practical solutions that will help shape the future of the energy sector.”

She said as they celebrate a decade of expanding energy access across Nigeria, “the Hackathon reflects its belief that the next decade of impact will be shaped not only by the investments it makes, but also by the innovators it inspires. ”

According to her, they aimed to achieve this by creating opportunities for young people to develop practical solutions to real-world challenges, which the organisation is helping build the talent, ideas, and leadership that will drive Nigeria’s clean energy future.”

She described the ALL ON Partnerships for Energy Access, as “an independent impact investing company, which was seeded by Shell to catalyze the growth of Nigeria’s off-grid energy market to provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for low-income households and small businesses.”

“It also provides debt and equity funding, as well as non-financial support, to Nigerian energy companies that align with its mission of closing Nigeria’s access-to-energy gap through renewable energy solutions,’ she stressed.

As part of the anniversary, the communque stated that the highlight included bringing together students from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) among others for practical innovation in clean energy sector.

“Participants were organized into six multidisciplinary teams, combining diverse skills and perspectives to design and pitch innovative clean energy solutions addressing challenges across healthcare, education, agriculture, fisheries, cold-chain logistics, and productive use of energy. The practical innovation was designed to encourage innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship,” the firm stated

It, however, challenged participants to develop solutions that would not only be technically sound, but also commercially viable, financially sustainable, digitally enabled, and capable of delivering meaningful social impacts.

During the competition, the team named “Current Creators”, which comprised of participants from each of the schools, emerged as the winning team with their concept called ColdLink, an integrated digital platform designed to improve the efficiency of renewable-powered cold-chain logistics.

They combined real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, fleet management, and energy performance tracking, the solution demonstrated how digital innovation can strengthen cold-chain operations, reduce post-harvest losses, and improve the long-term sustainability of clean energy-powered infrastructure